NFL team season
The 1966 New York Giants season was the franchise's 42nd season in the National Football League (NFL). The season saw the Giants looking to improve on their 7–7 record from 1965. However, they finished in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 1–12–1 record, the worst in franchise history.[2] [3] The 12 losses set a single-season team record that was matched four times before being broken in 2017 .[4]
The 1966 Giants surrendered the most points in NFL history for a 14-game season.[5] [6] They allowed 501 points in 14 games, or an average of 35.8 points per game.[3] This total broke the league record for the most points given up in a season.[7] The next most points allowed by a Giants team was 451 in the 2019 season , which was 16 games.[3] The Giants allowed opponents to score more than 30 points in eight of the 14 games, and gave up over 50 points three times.[2] They are the only team in history to give up 500 points in a 14-game season.[5] [6]
On November 27, the Giants played the highest-scoring game in NFL history, losing to the Washington Redskins , 72–41[8] and making them the last team until the 2023 Denver Broncos to surrender at least 70 points in a regular season game.[9] It was the first of three straight games in which the Giants gave up more than 45 points; they allowed 49 points against the Cleveland Browns and 47 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers .[2]
Off-season [ edit ] NFL Draft [ edit ] 1966 New York Giants roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers T 34–34 0–0–1 Pitt Stadium 37,693 2 September 18 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–52 0–1–1 Cotton Bowl 60,010 3 September 25 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–35 0–2–1 Franklin Field 60,177 4 October 2 Cleveland Browns L 7–28 0–3–1 Yankee Stadium 62,916 5 October 9 at St. Louis Cardinals L 19–24 0–4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 43,893 6 October 16 Washington Redskins W 13–10 1–4–1 Yankee Stadium 62,865 7 October 23 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–31 1–5–1 Yankee Stadium 63,018 8 Bye 9 November 6 St. Louis Cardinals L 17–20 1–6–1 Yankee Stadium 62,967 10 November 13 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–55 1–7–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 34,746 11 November 20 Atlanta Falcons L 16–27 1–8–1 Yankee Stadium 62,746 12 November 27 at Washington Redskins L 41–72 1–9–1 D.C. Stadium 50,439 13 December 4 at Cleveland Browns L 40–49 1–10–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 61,651 14 December 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–47 1–11–1 Yankee Stadium 62,658 15 December 18 Dallas Cowboys L 7–17 1–12–1 Yankee Stadium 62,735
[2]
Game summaries [ edit ] Week 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers [ edit ] Week One: New York Giants (0–0) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 10 0 17 34 Steelers 7 7 17 3 34
at Pitt Stadium , Pittsburgh
Date : September 11Game weather : 64 °F (18 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
New York – Pete Gogolak 14-yard field goal, Steelers 31–20. New York – Homer Jones 98-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Gogolak kick) Steelers 31–27. New York – Wendall Harris 72-yard fumble return (Gogolak kick), Giants 34–31. Pittsburgh – Mike Clark 41-yard field goal, 34–34. Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 2 at Dallas Cowboys [ edit ] Week Two: New York Giants (0–0–1) at Dallas Cowboys (0–0)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 7 0 0 7 Cowboys 7 24 14 7 52
at Cotton Bowl , Dallas
Date : September 18Game weather : 73 °F (23 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Dallas – Bob Hayes 39-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 38–7. Dallas – Dan Reeves 19-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 45–7. Fourth Quarter
Dallas – Cornell Green 41-yard interception return (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 52–7 Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 3 at Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Week Three: New York Giants (0–1–1) at Philadelphia Eagles (1–1)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 3 7 7 17 Eagles 7 14 7 7 35
at Franklin Field , Philadelphia
Date : September 25Game weather : 55 °F (13 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 4 vs Cleveland Browns [ edit ] Week Four: New York Giants (0–2–1) vs Cleveland Browns (1–2)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 7 7 0 14 28 Giants 0 7 0 0 7
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : October 2Game weather : 52 °F (11 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 5 at St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Week Five: New York Giants (0–3–1) at St. Louis Cardinals (4–0)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 10 3 0 6 19 Cardinals 0 0 7 17 24
at Busch Memorial Stadium , St. Louis
Date : October 9Game weather : 64 °F (18 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 6 vs Washington Redskins [ edit ] Week Six: New York Giants (0–4–1) vs Washington Redskins (3–2)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 3 7 0 0 10 Giants 0 3 0 10 13
at Yankee Stadium , New York
Date : October 16Game weather : 64 °F (18 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 7 vs Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Week Seven: New York Giants (1–4–1) vs Philadelphia Eagles (3–3)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 24 0 7 31 Giants 3 0 0 0 3
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : October 23Game weather : 59 °F (15 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Philadelphia – Earl Gros 1-yard rush (Baker kick), Eagles 31–3. Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 9 vs St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Week Nine: New York Giants (1–5–1) at St. Louis Cardinals (6–1–1)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 3 14 3 20 Giants 0 7 0 10 17
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : November 6Game weather : 48 °F (9 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 10 at Los Angeles Rams [ edit ] Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 11 vs Atlanta Falcons [ edit ] Week Eleven: New York Giants (1–7–1) vs Atlanta Falcons (0–9)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 7 6 7 7 27 Giants 0 3 7 6 16
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : November 20Game weather : 36 °F (2 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 12 at Washington Redskins [ edit ] Week Twelve: New York Giants (1–8–1) at Washington Redskins (5–6)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 14 14 13 41 Redskins 13 21 14 24 72
at D.C. Stadium , Washington D.C.
Date : November 27Game weather : 42 °F (6 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
This is the only game in NFL history with the final score of 72–41.[10]
Week 13 at Cleveland Browns [ edit ] Week Thirteen: New York Giants (1–9–1) at Cleveland Browns (7–4)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 14 17 6 3 40 Browns 7 7 14 21 49
at Cleveland Stadium , Cleveland
Date : December 4Game weather : 18 °F (−8 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 14 vs Pittsburgh Steelers [ edit ] Week Fourteen: New York Giants (1–10–1) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (3–8–1)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 5 14 21 7 47 Giants 0 14 7 7 28
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : December 11Game weather : 54 °F (12 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Pittsburgh – Safety, Spider Lockhart stepped out of endzone, Steelers 2–0. Pittsburgh – Mike Clark 12-yard field goal, Steelers 5–0. Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 15 vs Dallas Cowboys [ edit ] Week Fifteen: New York Giants (1–11–1) vs Dallas Cowboys (9–3–1)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 7 0 0 10 17 Giants 0 0 0 7 7
at Yankee Stadium , New York City
Date : December 18Game weather : 50 °F (10 °C)Box Score
Game information First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Top Passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Standings [ edit ] Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Statistics [ edit ] Team leaders [ edit ] Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL. [11]
League rankings [ edit ] Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank(out of 15) Passing offense 2,475 176.8 9th Rushing offense 1,457 104.1 12th Total offense 3,932 280.8 9th Passing defense 2,892 206.6 14th Rushing defense 2,053 146.6 14th Total defense 4,945 353.2 14th
See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank; Kanze, Peter (1998). The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921–1996 . McFarland & Company. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-7864-3872-3 . ^ a b c d "1966 New York Giants" . Pro Football Reference . Retrieved May 4, 2009 . ^ a b c "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia" . Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2020 . ^ Henry, Tyler (December 24, 2017). "Giants set unwanted franchise record with 13th loss" . USA Today . Retrieved January 6, 2018 . ^ a b "Team Game Finder Query Results: In a single season, from 1960 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Allowed" . Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 27, 2012 . ^ a b Pasquarelli, Len (May 18, 2009). "Schedule expansion gaining momentum" . ESPN . Retrieved January 27, 2012 . ^ Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants . Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. p. 143. ISBN 1-57243-641-7 . ^ "Redskins Set Mark In 72–41 Win Over Giants" . Park City Daily News . Associated Press . November 28, 1966. p. 9. Retrieved October 3, 2010 . ^ De la Fuente, Homero; Almasy, Steve (September 24, 2023). "Miami Dolphins score 70 points and take a knee rather than take a shot at NFL scoring mark" . CNN . Retrieved October 19, 2023 . ^ "All Games in Pro Football History with a 72 to 41 score" . Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2024 . ^ "Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference" . Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved December 18, 2023 .
Franchise History Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Key personnel Division championships (22) Conference championships (11) League championships (8) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations